Good Morning to you:
I just have to say how thrilled I was to open Lighthouse Trails yesterday and read the blog about Warren B. Smith’s upcoming book. God’s timing is always perfect. Now, please indulge me a few moments to explain. I had first heard about Sarah Young’s book in my church; a somewhat naïve woman thought it just so wonderful. Well, doing what we are commanded to do, I went home to “Test all things”; needless to say, this book didn’t pass the test. I sent the woman a link to the page with a critique/review of Sarah’s methods in writing this book.
Having a church sister buy into this book was troubling, however nothing compared to what happened at my church in ___________. We are having a “revival” this week, and the evangelist speaking got to the point of sharing how he and his wife do a daily devotional. He then reached inside his suit pocket and pulled “Jesus Calling” out and commenced to spout its wonderful content, all the while not knowing anything of how it was written, the book that inspired her to write this, or the methods contained therein (extra-biblical, divine revelation). I can’t imagine anyone in this day and age being so deceived; needless to say, I am not attending this revival for several different reasons, but mainly because the lack of discernment by this evangelist.
Keep up the good work, Blessings to you and yours.
J. _______
Dear J.
Thank you for your letter, one that is similar in nature to many we have received about Jesus Calling. So many of our readers have contacted us and told us that they have been given copies of Jesus Calling to be used as a daily devotional. Just how popular is Jesus Calling? In a recent Christianity Today article, it states:
Sarah Young, author of Jesus Calling
As of this summer, Jesus Calling had sold 9 million copies in 26 languages, and Publishers Weekly reported that it remained the No. 5 bestseller of the first half of 2013—for all books, not just Christian ones: It outsold Fifty Shades of Grey.
That means that likely well over 10 million people have read Jesus Calling (people share books with others) thus far. The Bible tells us to “try”/test the spirits to see whether they are of God (1 John 4:1-5). Surely, with a book as frequently read as Jesus Calling, it is prudent and biblical to examine it closely. Below is an excerpt from Warren B. Smith’s book “Another Jesus” Calling:
In the Introduction to Jesus Calling, Sarah Young said that she had been inspired to receive personal messages from “Jesus” after reading a book called God Calling. I remembered God Calling because it was a book I had when I was involved with New Age teachings. I found it troubling that Sarah Young had been inspired by a metaphysical book like God Calling. So that afternoon after purchasing Jesus Calling at the Christian bookstore, I also bought a copy of God Calling at a used bookstore. I would later find out that God Calling was being featured along with Jesus Calling in another local Christian bookstore. . . .
Because Jesus Calling contains personal “messages” that Sarah Young says were given to her by Jesus Christ, it is important to determine if these messages were really from Jesus. Are they consistent with the teachings of God’s Word? Is anything new or questionable being subtly introduced? In short, can we trust Jesus Calling as a godly devotional book? . . .
What our spiritual Adversary doesn’t want people to know is the . . . subtle deception that is going on in the world and in the church right now. A deception in which voices purporting to be “Jesus,” “God,” and the “Holy Spirit” are speaking directly to people through books, as well as in their quiet times of meditation, contemplative prayer, and yes—”Practicing the Presence.” A deception which brings us back to what the real Jesus was warning about in Matthew 24 regarding the end times. . . .
Our spiritual Adversary’s plan from the start has been to cleverly establish a counterfeit Christ that gradually introduces new revelations and new teachings and a New Age/New World Religion solution to a troubled world desperately looking for answers. His patient but steady attack on the church has increased greatly over the past several decades. According to Scripture, his deceptive plans will culminate with the greatest identity theft of all time. He will present himself to the world as Christ. Literally fulfilling the meaning of the term Antichrist, he will come in the name of Christ but will actually oppose Christ and everything the true Christ stands for. (from “Another Jesus” Calling)
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